Video Guide and Possible Discussion Questions

What is the public's impression of climate change in your region? What is your government doing about it? Would rising sea levels impact your region?

Watch Video: Paul Gilding: The Earth is Full

In the talk by Gilding at TED, a lot a critique is directed at ‘growth’. But, of course, most economies today are based on positive growth and most would find it difficult to imagine what an economy based on zero-growth could be like. At company level, it is very similar: growth is at the heart of many businesses’ strategy. Would limiting growth be part of the set of solutions to tackle the major problems faced by our planet? And if so, how would that look like?

Watch Video: Peter Diamandis: Abundance is our Future

In the talk by Diamandis at TED, a lot of faith is put in technology to face the greatest challenges on the planet. Is technology capable of compensating for the imbalances due to human behaviour? In other words, should individuals today change their consuming behaviour to reflect the growing scarcity of resources or will technology allow those individuals to continue consuming at the same pace, independent of scarcity or equal distribution of those resources?

How do you feel about the Gilding and Diamandis videos? Did you have a preferred one? If so, which one and why?

After watching the video where Arthur Potts Dawson presents his vision for sustainable restaurants do you feel there are some good opportunities to grab out there for such concepts? Do you have a restaurant in [your area] which operates similarly? Is it popular? Why or why not?

Watch Video: IHG: Green Engage

Hotel guests’ awareness of ‘property-initiated “green” programs’ has increased tremendously over the past five years. And hotels are keen on boosting their marketing effort in order for their environmentally conscious practices to be recognized. Unfortunately, the ‘green’ efforts that hotels have been marketing aren’t always actually so green. Is there a need or necessity for a hospitality industry greenwashing police? How can travellers separate the green hotels from the greenwashed?

Watch Video: Moevenpick Resort & Spa Dead Sea

Were you aware of Green Globe before watching this video? What is Green Globe and does it make sense for a hotel to obtain such certification? Also, what certifications would you adopt? Are there any that are better than others in your opinion? What have you heard?

Watch Video: The Story of Electronics

After watching The Story of Electronics, what is your take on the current situation with the ever-faster pace of electronic gadgets hitting the marketplace – a new phone every couple of months, new TVs, new game console, new computers? Are you always searching for the latest? How many old cell phones do you still have around? Does the hospitality industry hold some responsibility in this state of affair with electronic junk piling up?

After watching the documentary on the ‘cradle-to-cradle’ design concept of the chemist Michael Braungart and the architect William McDonough, what are your own thoughts on the ‘cradle-to-cradle’ concept? Can life-cycle assessment thinking be implemented in the hospitality industry?

Watch Video: William McDonough: The Wisdom of Designing Cradle to Cradle

You may be interested in watching this TED talk (a few years old now – but still relevant) and sharing your impressions with the class. Green-minded architect and designer William McDonough asks what our buildings and products would look like if designers took into account ‘all children, all species, for all time’.

What do you think of the Global Soap Project? Do you know of hotels in Germany who participate in such a programme? What is happening with the soaps used by guests? Do you think it is necessary to have the miniature bath products in hotel rooms? Why not large dispensers? Since when do we equate ‘luxury’ with ‘small plastic bottles’?

Watch Video: The Story of Bottled Water

Knowing the problems faced with plastic wastage (refer to Chapter 4) and the like of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, why are hoteliers still keen on serving water out of plastic bottles? What are the alternatives? Do you know of a hotel and/or restaurant that serves water out of the tap in glass carafes (perhaps after a short filtration)? Would that not be a common-sense alternative to the infamous plastic bottle? Yes/no and why?

Watch Video: A World Without Water

Take some time to watch the movie and share your thoughts on the subject.

Watch Video: Bentota Beach Hotel, Sri Lanka

Share your thoughts on what this hotel is trying to achieve, both on the environmental and social pillars of sustainable development.

Watch Video: The Missing Link to Renewable Energy

‘The electricity powering the lights in this theatre was generated just a moment ago, because the way things stand today, electricity demand must be in constant balance with electricity supply’ (Donald Sadoway). After watching Donald Sadoway’s TED talk (this is technical, but one can understand the implications) what are your thoughts on ‘storing energy’? One can make a link to generators that are found in hotels in case of power outage. Which energy source do those generators use in case of power outage? And what do you think absolutely needs to be linked to the generator in the hotel in case of power outage?

Watch Video: Freeing Energy from the Grid

‘Think of the space that we spent most of our time, tremendous amount of energy is coming at this from the sun . . . wouldn’t it be really great if the window could flick back the heat into the room if we needed it or flick it away before it came in’ (Justin Hall-Tipping). Watching the TED talk by Justin Hall-Tipping, what are your thoughts? Consider a hotel building. What are the possible applications? Is this the next energy revolution? What are your thoughts here on the talk by Hall-Tipping?

Watch Video: William Kamkwamba on Building a Windmill

Watch this very short talk by Malawian inventor William Kamkwamba who, at the age of 14 years of age built his family an electricity-generating windmill from spare parts. If that can be done, what stops any entrepreneur or hotelier today form thinking ‘outside the box’ when it comes to their operations? What lesson, if any, do you learn here, both as an individual and as a future hospitality leader?

Watch Video: 30-Story Building Built in 15 Days

The modern-day hotelier requires an in-depth knowledge in the traditional fields of operations, finance, marketing, customer relationships, branding, media and communication, but also in stakeholder relationships, environmental management, ethics and social responsibility. Many hotels now consist of multiple units including restaurants, bars, clubs, entertainment facilities, spas and recreation facilities operating 24/7/365 and consequently have a relatively high environmental impact and may cause a strained relationship with people both locally and internationally in the global market place. Indeed, the expansion of the hotel industry is dramatic, with dozens of new properties opening weekly. Where do you see opportunities in the hospitality field? In the budget hotels or luxury? In the resort, business or casino-type of hotels? Or other type of properties? And where do you see steady growth in hotel openings over the next years and why?

Watch Video: Bjarke Ingels: 3 Warp-Speed Architecture Tales

How would you define Sustainable Architecture or Sustainable Design and is this applicable to the hospitality industry? What are some of the benefits of Sustainable Design? Also, referring back to the highly entertaining talk by Ingels in the video (and notice the words on Diagonal Elevators), to what extent should architecture, and in particular hotels, blend into the culture of a community, in other words, would sustainability in design also mean to ‘fit in’? Your thoughts are welcome on this.